1984
“Be prepared,” they said “The greatest gift is coming.” I was pedaling fast on my brand new tricycle around the little porch that surrounded our garden. The sun was bright but the large trees offered a cooling shelter. The mosaic pattern in the tiles was dancing below my wheels as a single word raced through my mind “FASTER.”
And then I saw her. She was standing in the middle of the garden, cool as a cucumber. Her green eyes sparkling, her fur smooth as velvet; a creature of pure perfection. But her most perfect feature was her perfectly V-shaped nose. In the Greek alphabet that is pronounced “N” (ν). I instantly created a word for her: NIU. I got off my tricycle and tried to approach the creature. She seemed shy so I did my best to walk on all fours.
She stealthily moved towards me and sniffed my nose with her (ν). We were almost the same height and looking into her eyes made me so happy that I started drooling on the mosaic. Then something changed. A horde of friendly faces entered the garden. It was a celebration of some sort, and each of them was holding a gift. I looked back but the NIU had disappeared.
Somebody lifted me up. “Quick, quick, they’re coming,” Elevated in the air, I looked around and from the corner of my eye caught a last glimpse of NIU. A crowd had gathered from the gate to the front door. My aunts, uncles and family friends. Each of them gave me an exquisite gift. A Smurf telephone, a plastic elephant, a puzzle, colorful books and all kinds of small toys. We were assembled in the garden, anticipating the greatest gift of all.
My parents arrived all smiles holding a tiny red-faced thing wrapped in white linen. The thing was crying its eyes out. I peered closer at the screaming fiend. It was appalling. No, I could not possibly find any use for it. I told my parents to return it to the store and went to play with my new toys.
I’m sad to say it took me many years to appreciate the greatest gift, because it sure was.
